04 November 2011

One-hundred and thirty-three members of the 192-strong House Democratic caucus have filed an amicusbrief siding with groups challenging the Defense of Marriage Act, saying that the provision denying same-sex married couples federal rights is unconstitutional.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announced the filing yesterday on Twitter. Pelosi and other members who signed the brief argue "that the key section of the law is unconstitutional because it was passed quickly, driven by biases and lacks 'a rational relationship to any legitimate federal purpose,'" reports Politico.

In the brief, the members—including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer and Reps. Jerry Nadler, John Conyers, Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin and Jared Polis, among others — state that Congress "acted hastily" when DOMA was enacted.

The Obama Administration announced in February that it will NOT defend recent lawsuits challenging DOMA. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has hired counsel through the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group to defend DOMA's constitutionality.

The brief was co-signed by the entire House Democratic leadership, most of the Progressive Caucus and most of the Congressional Black Caucus, including John Conyers, Maxine Waters, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Barbara Lee, Jesse Jackson Jr., Chaka Fatah, Emanuel Cleaver and many others.

Provost had confided to his family that he was harassed and ostracized for at least a year because he was gay and black. Provost's sister suggested he tell a supervisor—unfortunately not an option for gay and lesbian servicemembers due to "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Despite the torture and brutal murder, the military maintained from the beginning this was a "random act of violence" and there was "no evidence" to believe it was a hate crime.

David Badash at the New Civil Rights Movement: 'The circumstances surrounding this murder are ghastly, but the Navy’s response [is] ghastly as well. The military [investigation] is evidence that the military cannot possibly be trusted to police [or] investigate itself when it comes to gay soldiers and gay rights. Which leads us to ask how the military will handle integration of openly gay and lesbian servicemembers into its ranks."

Charges preferred include alleged violations of the Uniform Code
of Military Justice, the military’s governing law code, over a period
from May 1 to July 1 including: murder of Boatswain’s Mate Seaman
August Provost III by shooting him with a pistol; use of illegal
psilocybin mushrooms; breaking and entering into a private residence,
and stealing electronic equipment, jewelry and a .45 caliber pistol;
driving under the influence of alcohol; attempt to commit arson;
wrongful possession of firearms; unlawful entry; unlawful carrying of a
concealed weapon; stealing military property; arson; unlawful handling
of a deceased individual; solicitation of a civilian to murder another
Navy sailor, a Master at Arms assigned to ACU FIVE and to vandalize the
sailor’s house; and unauthorized absence.

The Navy maintains this was not a hate crime and offers an alternative motive that dovetails previous Rod 2.0 reports: Provost was allegedly killed when a fellow servicemember, intent upon vandalizing a hovercraft, tried to "rush"
the guard shack. Authorities now reveal the 32-year-old suspect also knew Provost and served in the same unit—Assault Craft Unit FIVE—and was about to reprimanded for DUI. Campos has been in custody three weeks and military brass initially said this was a "random" act of violence.

Navy Region Southwest spokesman Matt Brown tells KPBS-TV "there’s no time limit" on the
investigation which remains under the authority of Provost's former commander—not the Pentagon.

“The commander of
Assault Craft Unit Five (ACU 5) will determine, based on the
information provided by investigators, if this is a case that perhaps
should be considered by a higher level review, such as a general court
martial,” says Brown.

A suspect is being held in the brig on Camp
Pendleton. Brown says under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he
can be held indefinitely, as long as investigators can show a military
judge they are aggressively pursuing the case.

Several congressmen, including San Diego's Bob Filner (D), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and Sheila Jackson-Lee, who represents the family, want independent investigations.

If there is "no time limit" on the investigation and the "person of interest" can be held without charges "indefinitely", will we ever learn who killed August Provost and why? And if the shooting, torture and burning of a United States Seaman is not "serious enough" for a general court martial, what is?

Rose Roy, of Beaumont, the sister of Provost’s father, said in a phone interview Tuesday, July 14 that she’s “not at liberty” to identify the source who provided the information to the family. But Roy said the source told the family Provost had a heated argument with the suspect a week before his murder, and that the sailor now being held as a person of interest by the Navy has a history of mental illness.

"This guy went the extra mile to make sure that my nephew would never be able to speak about his [the killer’s] sexuality," Roy said. "My nephew died for reasons other than what the military is saying."

Neither Provost’s other family members nor his partner, identified as Kaether Cordero of Houston, could be reached for comment this week.

The person of interest being held identified by the Navy and has not yet been charged with any crime.

The military "investigation" raises more questions than answers, says Rep. Bob Filner (D) of suburban San Diego, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Filner tells the Dallas Voice: "They keep saying they know it’s not a hate crime, but they don’t give me enough information for me to agree with that or not. If they don’t do it right, we will have an independent congressional inquiry."

Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee, who represents Houston and Provost's
family, tells the Houston Chronicle: "I am requesting a full investigation into the
murder. This death appears bizarre, and more facts need to be
uncovered."

Provost's mother, Melanie Provost, said Sunday the military originally told her simply that her son had been found unconscious in the guard shack and later died. "The only way I found out my son had been shot and burned was on TV," she said. Her son had mentioned to her before he died that he was being harassed by some fellow sailors, but he handled it stoically, she said.

Jackson Lee said the incident should lead the military to be less tolerant of similar harassment. "If he was being harassed, why was the bad behavior being covered up? Why was the person still there?" Jackson Lee said. The congresswoman would like to see the military's “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” policy toward gay service members lifted, but says other changes are needed to prevent discrimination of all kinds. Family members say that policy played a part in Provost's poor treatment in the Navy, however.

"At one point, she left her
seat at his funeral to stand beside another sailor, who broke down
singing a song he had written about Provost. Her presence seemed to
give the sailor, Jack Hunter, strength to finish. "We loved your smile. You made every day worthwhile. Oh, how we miss you. And we wish you were here," sang Hunter.

Friends and family praised Provost for his “powerful love” of all people, never caring about sexual orientation or race. Only one longtime family friend, Allie Harrison, alluded to concern over whether the gay sailor's death was a hate crime. "I believe with all my heart the truth will be revealed and any lies uncovered," she said from the pulpit.

Under the military's failed "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, if August Provost reported the harassment, that would have been considered "telling" and lead to immediate discharge, notes San Diego City Commissioner Stampp Corbin, who also is black and gay. "August Provost, and others like him, are often harassed because of the perception they are gay or lesbian ... That is the quandary gay and lesbian military personnel face in these situations."

Perhaps not-so-ironically, as the Houston Chronicle reports on the funeral services for this distinguished seaman who quite likely was killed because he was black and gay, many of the readers' comments are homophobic and at least one is racist. Several readers quite Biblical passages against homosexuality. Reader Argon96 writes: "The mi8llitary is full of weirdos today,straight and gay...I doubt he was targeted for being gay,but who knows." Another comment by ULoveHuessein, apparently deleted by the newspaper, said there were "many fags" in the Marines and a reference to "jungle fruit." Provost was a U.S. Navy Seaman serving at a Marine Corps base, which is standard procedure.

Eight days after the death of Seaman Provost, authorities still have a "person of interest" in custody. No charges have been filed and no motive announced.

The announcement by Jackson-Lee—who has a 100% rating from the Human Rights Campaign—comes at the same time other members of the Congress are pressing for action. Sources tell Rod 2.0 the Congressional Black Caucus, National Black Justice Coalition, NAACP, and the Black Leadership Forum are making a joint statement demanding a full investigation by the Department of Defense and the Secretary of the Navy. Rep. Bob Filner (D) of suburban San Diego, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, says his panel will investigate, too. Filner wants also wants DoD and the Marine Corps to investigate whether the killing of the sailor was a hate crime.